Felipe Lopez fired agent Scott Boras in what appears to be a move to sign quickly with a club before Spring Training.

I flushed out the pros and cons for the Cubs to sign Lopez, and as it turns out, it’s a good move on paper, but my gut says the Cubs shouldn’t do it.

There’s just something fishy about a former All Star being unsigned in February, and especially one in his prime as a 29-year-old.

What haunts me, and presumably Lopez as well, are the reports I heard about Felipe when the Reds traded him to Washington in 2006–reports basically saying the kid’s lazy.

At the time, such reports were easily dismissed. Lopez was, after all, an All Star the season before.

But in the five years following his All Star campaign, however, Lopez has played for four different teams, mainly serving in a bench role.

Perhaps, a sign those early reports were more on-target than off.

With the Cubs’ team-chemistry a higher priority this season than last, which it should be following the DeRosa trade and Bradley debacle, even the assumption of Lopez’s lack of motivation is too big a risk for Jim Hendry to take on.

If what I heard about Lopez many years ago is true, it’s a shame. The guy has, or at least had, the potential and look of a franchise shortstop.

But whatever Lopez’s case may be–lazy or not–I’d rather the Cubs let another team figure that out in 2010, even if it means calling on Starlin Castro before he’s ready.